This blog includes postings by students in Mr. Buxton's sixth grade language arts classes and Mrs. Westall's seventh grade students. A link to Mr. Buxton's postings is on the right side of the screen.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Maze By Will Hobbs

The Maze is about a young, teenage boy named Rick. He has had a rough childhood and is trying to find his way and meaning in life. Early in the book, Rick is charged with a crime for throwing rocks at a stop sign and damaging it. He has to go to a detention center called Blue Canyon for a long sentence and cannot stand being there. One quiet night, Rick escapes the center and is off into the world by himself. He sneaks into the back of a stationary pick-up truck and is driven all the way out into the Maze; the Maze is a collection of canyons and landforms. The truck is driven by a scientist named Lon who is studying condors. Lon finds out that Rick hid in the back of his truck, but lets Rick stay with him at his base camp because Rick has nowhere else to go. Rick helps Lon with the research about the condors and even gets to fly a hang glider. Rick and Lon do everything they can to keep the condor species from going extinct and to keep the condors safe. They learn that together, anything is possible.

I give this book four out of five stars for the rating. A lot of this book was slow moving and I occasionally got a little bit bored with it. However, I think that the ending/resolution was very exciting and kept you “on the edge of your seat.” It also tied everything that happened in the book together and solved a lot of problems that occurred. My favorite part of the book was when Rick learned how to hang glide for the first time because it was suspenseful when I thought that he would loose control of the glider and get hurt. You would enjoy reading this book if you've read Hatchet, Brian’s Winter, or any other survival fiction books.